SVC Division of Nursing Mission and Philosophy

The purpose/mission of the Division of Nursing, in accordance with the mission of Southern Vermont College, provides a transformative learning environment which prepares the graduate as a lifelong learner able to provide quality nursing care. The SVC graduate is prepared with the skills and abilities to serve as a full partner in the redesign and advancement of healthcare (IOM, 2010) and to affect environmental and other determinants of health on individuals and populations.

Philosophy of Nursing Education

The Southern Vermont College Division of Nursing, as an integral part of its parent institution, is dedicated to the pursuit of a liberal education in the arts, sciences, and humanities. The philosophy and curricular focus of the division emphasizes active learning, exploration, empowerment, citizenship, personalized learning, and environmental sensibility. The professors in the Division of Nursing believe that teaching and learning is a collaborative process which fosters responsibility, accountability, inquiry, dialogue, self-knowledge, and critical thinking in a caring environment. The expectation is that graduates are capable of fulfilling their inherent potential, both personally and professionally, through the educative process and becoming lifelong learners. The Nursing faculty members value the prominence and importance Nursing holds in providing healthcare to communities. Values identified as essential within the Nursing profession include caring, critical thinking, ethical behavior, and a commitment to evidence-based practice. The essence of Nursing is grounded in the meaning of caring. The Nursing faculty members believe that caring exists in authentic relationships through which all persons are respected and nurtured. Within these co-created relationships, caring opens the possibility of transformation, inviting growth, healing, and wholeness of persons, families, and communities. Through service-learning experiences, students are given the opportunity to develop a sense of community and commitment of service to others, which the Nursing faculty members believe is the foundation of all Nursing practice. The Nursing faculty members believe Nursing is a professional discipline with academic and applied dimensions. The Nursing faculty members value scholarship and academic integrity and seek to foster professional involvement and lifelong learning in students and graduates. In the reflective practice of Nursing and Nursing education, a caring environment affirms diversity in ways of being and ways of knowing.

Conceptual Model

The Southern Vermont College Division of Nursing Conceptual Model focuses on the interaction among four core concepts of professional nursing. The Essentials (AACN, 2008) provide the standard for baccalaureate education. Through this foundation, students develop advanced beginner skills in appropriate, timely, and effective application of the nursing process to achieve optimal health outcomes for the spectrum of clients (individuals, families, communities, and organizations) encountered in a variety of health care settings. This application of the nursing process is carried out within an environment viewed from a caring perspective. The caring perspective is derived from the foundations of Watson’s carative factors, Leininger’s culture care perspective, and Benner’s philosophy of the development of professional caring in nursing. Six threads support the core concepts and are woven throughout each course in the curriculum including: Healthy People 2020 (HP 2020), Quality and Safety Education for Nurses (QSEN), ethics, legal responsibilities of nurses, diversity, and social justice.

Outcomes

By the completion of the program, the baccalaureate graduate of the SVC Division of Nursing must meet the following Expected Student Outcomes:

1. Integrate concepts of Nursing, the Humanities, and the Social, Biological and Physical sciences to build an understanding of the diverse human experience; 2. Utilize quality and patient safety improvement concepts, processes, and outcome measures to promote health outcomes for individuals, families, communities, and organizations; 3. Integrate the current evidence base to identify practice issues in order to improve patient outcomes according to the legal and ethical standards of the Nursing profession; 4. Utilize informatics and patient-care technologies to gather evidence to support quality and safety in Nursing practice; 5. Utilize healthcare policy, finance and the regulatory environment to advocate for individuals, families, communities, and organizations; 6. Collaborate with members of the interdisciplinary team to provide coordinated, compassionate, patient-centered care; 7. Analyze major determinants of population health to promote and advocate for social justice, culturally-appropriate health promotion, and the elimination of health disparities; 8. Demonstrate professional accountability, empowerment, and commitment to lifelong learning; and 9. Demonstrate skills in critical thinking, decision making, and communication in the use of the Nursing process with individuals, families, communities, and organizations.